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Happy pride to everyone except TERFs and the writers of Game of Thrones season 8!

This is obviously a pride positive blog. In many senses: we endorse positive representations of inclusion and love across every community; we celebrate the fact that the movement was started by trans women of color; we want LGBT youth to see the wave of acceptance and understand that it’s okay to be who they are; we support throwing bricks at bigoted policemen.

We can’t actually recommend that last one because it’s illegal and the sacrifices and risks taken by the Stonewall rioters aren’t to be taken lightly but also live your truth.

It may be a recycled Hot Take™ to  criticize Pride for being a corporate shell of its original self. But after scrolling through post after post of sanitized, pastel-colored, merch-heavy pride photosets I feel that maybe it bears repeating.

It’s wonderful that we’ve come so far as to be able to hold public, positive blowout parties in June and hang “love is love” banners everywhere and shove rainbows up our asses! There is also still a huge gulf between the safety afforded to white upper class queer folks in expressing their identities, and the risks it poses for everyone else.

I’d love to hear from y’all about your pride hot takes! What does it mean for you? Do you have a pride related story? Who are your biggest trans/poc influences and inspirations in the LGBT community? How many rainbow dildos have you planted in your front lawn? (If it’s less than 20 you’re a fake ally.) Inbox us.

Cheers all xoxo Toto

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Easy in theory. More complicated in practice. Just as easy in practice. Still bi.

Why is bisexuality so hard to understand??

Okay, so let’s say I like both guys and girls sexually/romantically (because I do). This means that I could start a relationship with either a guy or a girl, because according to my identity, I like both. This is where people get lost. Because APPARENTLY if I were in a male&female relationship, I’m suddenly just making up my attraction to the same gender. And then if I’m in a gay relationship, that must mean that I’m suddenly gay now too! Because it’s just impossible to like two things at the same time, right??

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i don’t get when adults say “homosexuality is too complicated and strange for little kids to understand”

like ma'am your child believes that a bunny rabbit hops all around the world delivering chocolate eggs to every child on the planet in one night, i think they can handle people loving the same gender.

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Do you ever feel like your government is actively working to institute a theocracy right under your very nose, and all anyone can seem to do is tweet? (I’m not knocking the art of the well-placed tweet, by the way. Case and point the account pictured above.)

Here’s what’s going on in my part of the world, which is Alberta (Commonly known as the bible belt of Canada):

The recently elected UCP (United Conservative Party #UnderHisEye) has, by its inaction, effectively canceled a work group dedicated to eradicating the insidious and abusive practice of “reparative” therapy for LGBT+ persons. Minister of Health Tyler Shandro has claimed on twitter that he told the group they were welcome to continue meeting. However, according to Emma Graney of the Edmonton Journal, his office released a statement that “The working group has disbanded with the change in govt.” AKA, they’re pretending the group (which included a survivor of conversion therapy) doesn’t merit focus because conversion therapy/torture “doesn’t happen here.”

If you dig a little deeper, you’ll see this simply isn’t true. Of course, nobody is coming right out and calling their services conversion therapy. That would be bad PR. The practice is couched in the language of soul-searching, healing trauma, and respecting individual faith. Alberta survivor Kevin Schultz was undergoing private faith-based counseling to realign his sexual orientation as late as 2007. Journey Canada, formerly Living Waters, which claims to help folks “experience Jesus in their sexuality” (kinky?) still operates across Canada.

If anyone is in doubt, the Human Rights Campaign and the Canadian Psychology Association can shed light on why conversion therapy/counseling of any kind is deeply damaging and can even be life-threatening.

The previous NDP government at least gave the appearance of caring about the LGBT community. The UCP gives the appearance of wanting to give the appearance of caring. In any case, I kind of wonder, why not just oh I don’t know BAN CONVERSION THERAPY AS IF WE WERE A CIVILIZED 21ST CENTURY SOCIETY? The UCP certainly hasn’t shied away from taking bold action on controversial issues (eg. lowering minimum wage for minors like a bunch of literal cartoon Scrooge McDucks).

This conversion therapy fustercluck is one move in an alarmingly swift series of policy change plans the UCP has begun rolling out since April of this year. They have also pledged to remove key protections afforded to GSA’s (Gay-Straight Alliances, common “safe space” organizations for LGBT students found in secondary schools). This means teachers could, at their own discretion, be permitted to notify parents if their child joins a GSA. This would obviously defeat the whole purpose of GSA’s and put children at greater risk of abuse at home.

When urged to consult experts on why this was such a monumental mistake, and questioned about the purpose of his party’s decision, premier Kenney had this to say:

"I think it would be very rare [for parents to be notified]," Kenney said. "Probably only [when] dealing with very young kids or kids with unique emotional and mental health challenges."

AKA, he has no idea what the repercussions could be and is speaking in “likelihoods” like some kind of fiendish gremlin under a bridge, desperate to grant you three wishes whose loopholes will ruin your life. (PS: Back in 2006 Kenney bragged about working to repeal a spousal law that allowed gay men to visit their dying partners in the hospital during the AIDS crisis. So that’s the attitude we’re dealing with here.)

If you’re curious about what other draconian policies the UCP has lurking just around the corner you can read up on their full platform, which includes such gems as scrapping the carbon tax, pausing the K-12 curriculum review, pushing for more private health care options, and something ominously called the “climate war room.”

If you, like me, are having some serious Handmaid’s Tale flashbacks right now, you’re not being overdramatic. The erosion of minority and women’s rights at the hands of backsliding democracies worldwide is not some fad. It’s a real thing that is happening all around us while shiny apps are being pelted at us as a distraction.

So let’s move on to what can actually be done. Before I list some ideas, I want to cover a few key points. We’re often advised, as constituents of a district or riding, to take action by writing to our political representatives! Here’s why I think that’s a waste of time: the current political climate is extremely polarized. It’s a buzzword because it’s true. If your MLA is conservative, and you write them a letter urging them to see things your bleeding-heart liberal way... well, why would they care? You’re not even a part of the voter base they’re targeting, and they know it. They don’t need your support. Alberta voters skew overwhelmingly right-wing already.

My advice is to follow the money.

A PAC (Political Action Committee) is an organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates them to campaigns for or against candidates or legislation. Shaping Alberta’s Future is a PAC whose stated aim is to promote a conservative Alberta with Kenney at the helm. In 2018, they raised a whopping $170,000 in two weeks to fund UCP ads. Their financial disclosure documents are pretty lengthy and can be confusing if you don’t know what you’re looking for. That’s why I’ve broken down the info into a list of the major 5-figure contributors, all (you’ll be bowled over with shock to learn) men, most of them members of the Motor Dealership of Alberta for some reason.

For those of us who live in Alberta/Canada, that means we can do the following:

HERE is a link to a form letter addressing major donors to Shaping Alberta’s Future, politely urging them to bring matters of LGBT youth safety to the government’s attention.

HERE is a link to a list of specific donors, their contact information, and contribution amounts. This info can be filled into the indicated sections on the above letter.

Simply print, sign, and mail the letters to the addresses provided. Postage should be fairly inexpensive but if it’s an issue, take a photo of your signed letter and Canada Post receipt and I’ll etransfer you the value of your postage (within reason, guys!). If you can’t access Google drive, I’ll copy the letter to you by whatever method you prefer.

If you’d like to add information to the above list, or offer a correction, please message us or email askovertherainbowblog@gmail.com.

Additional things you can do (from anywhere):

Spreading the word always helps. Set up an email list or reddit thread. If you’re Albertan, print ten extra letters and ask a few friends to sign them. Pride month is just around the corner: bring a sheaf of letters with you to a parade and throw them in the air like confetti. (You’ll probably get some free condoms for your trouble; nice!)

Donations are not possible for everyone but if they’re possible for you, Youthsafe.net has a list of organizations that could use your support.

Stay vigilant. Read full articles covering both sides of the issues you’re investigating, and investigate in turn the veracity of your sources. Read posts from people you don’t agree with and, as infuriating as it is to have your person-hood invalidated by pseudo-scientific doctrine, pause to digest other points of view before formulating a vitriolic response. I’m not advising moderation (fuck moderation) but I am advising strategy.

Pursue local involvement. It’s tough to sit in front of a news cast in rural Canada and watch women in Alabama have their reproductive rights stripped from them, knowing a small donation to the ACLU is probably the most you can do short of upending your life to go on a march, and that won’t even move the needle much. But everyone, everywhere where voting happens, can march into a town hall and make their voice heard when it comes to the bullshit in their own community. The people around you want to get involved; they’re just not sure how to do it. Give them a means and they’ll stand beside you!

xoxo

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Me: Mom, can I have some friends sleep over

Mom: Okay, but no boys!!

Me: #GrowingUpGay

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Why Bi+ Isn’t Half-Gay and Why It Matters

For a while I jokingly called myself half-gay. First of all, it really doesn’t matter to me if someone wants to call themselves half-gay. Who knows, maybe I will use that term again one day. The goal of this post is more so to use this term to dive into the psyche of myself a few years ago and why, even though I was attracted to, sexually active with, and romantically involved with women, I considered myself more of an ally than an LGBTQ+ person.

The problem with the idea behind my use of the term half-gay, for what I now call bi+*, is really fundamental. There is nothing gay about being bi+. Wait, what?

Gay has evolved as a catch-all phrase for same-sex activities. “Gay rights” is a catch-all phrase for the rights of all sexual orientations that aren’t heterosexual. “Gay Straight Alliances” are used to describe clubs in schools that support students who aren’t heterosexual and their allies. Many lesbians I know use the term “gay” and “lesbian” interchangeably to describe their sexualities. I also freely use the term “gay” for my own inclinations or attractions when I’m feeling very attracted to women.

The problem with this for people who aren’t monosexual** is that their experiences are interpreted as a combination of heterosexuality and homosexuality. A half-gay, half-straight, so to speak. This ignores anything that makes the non-monosexual different from the gay and the straight. Solidarity has been a gift for many communities. You have probably experienced the feeling of “wait, you have experienced this too?!” when you learned about someone else who shares a similar experience. It can make you feel less alone, less ashamed, and more likely to speak up. Terms like mansplaining or manspreading have become commonplace because they describe the experience of many people –experiences that may have been hard to put a finger on before. Although they are criticized for being such minor issues in a sea of human-rights travesties, if you have heard these terms this speaks to the power of a large group of people having a shared experience and being able to communicate about it. Naming experiences is an incredibly powerful tool. So, back to the half-gay term. Well, isn’t a bi+ just half-gay? A friend of mine used the wonderful analogy of the werewolf. The werewolf is not a human, and she is not a wolf. The werewolf does not cease to be a werewolf regardless of which manifestation she has shape-shifted into.  The werewolf is always a werewolf. So whether the bi+ is single, in a same-sex relationship or in an other-sex relationship – they don’t stop being bi+.

Here are a sampling of things that bi+ people experience that is unique to being bi+: not half-gay or half-straight. I have found myself in a conversation more than once where the people I’m talking to define their sexualities by the genders they’re not attracted to. For queer folks this can be a way to signal queerness. A lesbian might make a comment about not being into men, or a gay man will clarify that he isn’t into women. Depending on the circumstance it can be a way of signal to “your people” belonging and to potential love interests that you’re “batting for their team.” Heterosexual folks do the same thing. They will often establish their sexualities with anything from passive comments to more aggressive homophobic comments. For example, “he’s an attractive man, but I’m not saying I’m attracted to him, I’m not gay.” It’s an expression of our sexualities by showing the gender we are not attracted to. This is a bi+ unique experience. I simply can’t relate to not being attracted to someone based on their gender. I can’t signal to the queer folks that I belong by saying I’m not into men. I don’t have the gender-based distaste response I see in many monosexuals.

A potentially unique bi+ experience is my attraction to ambiguous gender expression. The more ambiguous the more likely I am to find them immediately attractive. There is something glorious about seeing someone, checking them out, and being like “wow you are HOT!” and not actually being sure where they fit on the gender spectrum. This could possibly be a shared bi+ experience.

Another unique aspect of being bi+ is that bi+ people mostly date people who don’t share our sexual orientation. Straight people will by definition date straight people, and lesbians/gays will by definition date lesbians/gays.*** Bi+ people can date straight people, lesbians/gays, and other bi+ people. There are much fewer bi+ people than monosexual people in the dating pool, so statistically speaking it’s not as likely for bi+ people to date bi+ people. This means even in a world of misunderstandings about sexuality, many monosexuals can trust they have a shared experience with their partners, this isn’t the same for bi+ people. This can be rewarding, because respectfully sharing differences is always an enriching experience, or it can be difficult as you navigate misconceptions or assumptions. Which brings me to my next point.

Bi+ people unfortunately also have the unique experience of being misunderstood or “othered” by both straights and gay/lesbians. This is one of the shared experiences us werewolves have. These are a sampling of experiences that make the bi+ experience distinct from just being “half-gay.”

The second problem with calling the bi+ person “half-gay” is the implication that the other part of the bi+ person is “half-straight”. This might seem like an innocent enough implication. Bi+ people are in different-gendered relationships all the time, right? The problem with using the heterosexual experience to explain the bi+ experience is, first of all, that bi+ people are not straight. It is generally understood in the queer community that the assumption of heterosexuality is problematic. Queer folks, particularly folks who do not necessarily set of people’s “gay-dar” will have a hard time being seen for who they are and especially seen as queer by other queer people. This is a common discussion point for femme lesbians who are not necessarily read as queer. If this assumption is problematic for lesbians and gays, then it is more than fair to ask that bi+ people are extended the same curtesy.

Secondly, bi+ people are often accused of “straight privilege.” Now, I am very happy to admit the areas of life in which I have privilege. My first post outlines some of the many ways I move through the world in a position of privilege. However, although bi+ identities experience different types of discrimination than homosexual identities, they do not experience straight privilege. This is because bi+ aren’t straight. Wait, what?

Here I would like to follow in the footsteps of a bi+ advocate I respect, Shiri Eisner, and point out the importance of the difference between privilege and passing. A comparison would be useful here. Transgender people often discuss the topic of passing. Passing generally refers to being perceived as a woman, if you’re MTF****, or man, if you’re FTM. The difficulty with passing is that once you are not seen as having the identity you have, i.e. in this case you aren’t seen as being transgendered, there are other risks. Maybe you have a new healthcare provider and they don’t give you all the information you need. Maybe you meet someone at a bar and really hit it off, but now you have to find a way to disclose your identity without knowing what kind of reaction you might receive in return. Maybe you’re in a conversation with other people who see you as “one of them,” and they start speaking poorly of sexual or gender minorities. Maybe you feel scared to speak up, scared to “out yourself.”

Acceptance can feel superficial when you don’t know how someone will actually react if they “find you out.” Of course I am not transgendered, so I can only speculate on the challenges of passing as it relates to gender. But I hope you can gather that passing is obviously not the same as privilege. Having male-privilege and being a trans who passes as male are two vastly different things. Certainly, the trans person who passes will have a different experience than the trans person who doesn’t pass, but again these are not questions of privilege. Similarly, bi+ people may have people assume they are straight, but this is not the same as having straight privilege. Because bi+ people are not straight. The statistics speak for themselves. In many studies, bi+ people fare the worst out of straights, gays and lesbians on many measures of mental health, addictions, and harassment.***** How is it that bi+ people are experiencing straight privilege if they are faring worse than straights, and also worse than gays and lesbians, on many measures related to physical and mental health?

So if bi+ people aren’t “half-gay” and they aren’t “half-straight,” what are they? Well, I’m glad you asked! We are bi+! We are similar: we also love people and want to find acceptance in community. But we are different: we aren’t straight or lesbian/gay, and our experiences are unique. So, call yourself what you like, maybe you’re feeling particularly gay today. But also know that regardless of how straight or gay you feel, you aren’t any less bi+.

Love,

Dorothy

xxoo

 *I decided to use the term bi+ because although I use the term bisexual for myself, I want to include other non-monosexual identities. I do not mean to say that other non-monosexual identities are somehow under the umbrella (or below) the bisexual label. I think of it more like a cluster and I’m using “bi” as the primary label because that’s how I identify. Labels are hard, bear with me, and certainly let me know if you have a better idea!

**Monosexuality refers to when you are attracted to only one gender: so heterosexual or homosexual.

***With the exception of dating a bi+ person of course.

****MTF refers to male-to-female, and FTM refers to female-to-male transgendered people.

*****For example, check out the Bi-invisibility Report: Impacts and Recommendations by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission

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nobody ever talks about how saying non-binary genders don’t exist is racist as fuck

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Taiwan Becomes First Country In Asia to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

In a vote on Friday, May 17, Taiwan parliament legalized same-sex marriage, becoming the first country in Asia to do so.

This is only a week before the Parliament was to hit the deadline of May 24 set in 2017 after the constitutional court ruled that same-sex couple had the right to legally marry. 

Following years of campaigning by LGBT+ groups for equal marriage rights, hundreds swarmed the parliament building on Friday as the debate was held. Three bills were debated but last-minute attempts by conservatives to pass a watered-down “civil union” laws with not adoption rights were rejected.

In the end, the most progressive one was chosen which allowed couples to form “exclusive permanent unions” and apply for “marriage registrations.” However, this bill was not perfect, as it provides only limited adoption rights and draws some distinctions between heterosexual marriage, such as the inability to marry a foreigner if same-sex marriage is not legal in their country. Yet this is still be hailed by LGBTQ+ advocate as a momentous victory.

This landmark ruling will be implemented on May 24th and is bound to spread hope in Asia’s growing LGBT+ movements.

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Bisexuals and Queer Youth in Canadian Classrooms

One of my guilty pleasures back in the day was the TV show, Glee. This TV show followed a group of students navigating the difficulties of high school with the support of a Glee club, kind of like a choir but nerdier. There were a few different depictions of queer youth in this TV show. In the earlier seasons I recall two prominent examples. The first was Kurt Hummel, a fashion-loving, musical-singing, stereotypical gay boy who was bullied by the popular kids. He was shoved against lockers and called names. He was one of the first members of the Glee club because he had nothing to lose: he was already unabashedly who he was. The other example was Santana Lopez who was a popular cheerleader and took much longer to come out. In contrast to Kurt Hummel she was the instigator of much of the bullying in the show. Among other queer characters, Brittany Pierce is another popular cheerleader and a bisexual girl. Brittany is casual and comfortable with her bisexuality and is romantically involved with Santana who struggles to accept her own lesbianism, despite her popularity and social dominance. These are common characterizations of young, queer TV characters. But do these characterizations represent the experience of queer youth in schools?

I was intrigued when I came across a 2011 report written by Canadian researchers about the experience of queer youth in Canadian schools. When reading the report, Every Class in Every School: Final Report on the First National Climate Survey on Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia in Canadian Schools I was originally intending to write a post on the sections that specifically addressed bisexual youth experience in Canadian schools. However, after reading the report I felt it would not be doing it justice to only address the sections discussing bisexuality. I wanted to bring to light some of the really interesting findings in their research and provide a wider context for any bisexual-specific sections.

The first thing that struck me was the impressively large scope of the project: both in number of individuals surveyed; the number of issues covered in the report; and the future implications. The survey included over 3700 students from across Canada. Responses were gathered from an open-access online survey as well as through in-school sessions with randomly selected school districts. (13) Issues addressed in the report include homophobic, transphobic, biphobic and sexist comments; verbal, physical, sexual and other harassment; distress experienced by students; feelings of safety based on different areas of the school building; predictors of school attachment; responses of teachers; students’ awareness of school’s anti-homophobia policies; inclusion of LGBTQ topics and individuals in curriculum; etc. The scope of this project is also captured in the title Every Class in Every School. I have heard previous estimates of the LGBTQ population put at less than 5% of the population. According to this study, and a similar large-scale study conducted in BC in 2007, the rate of students self-declaring as LGBTQ is 14%! (22) In other words, there are very few classes in Canada that don’t have an LGBTQ student in them. These issues impact far more Canadian youth than many previously thought.

Bisexual Youth

The title the authors originally chose for the study only named homophobia in schools. However, based on the findings that “school climates for bisexual and trans students are equally – and in some ways even more hostile,” they chose to change the title of the study to include biphobia and transphobia. (135) In a section entitled Bisexual Youth the authors reject the false assumption that “society in general tolerates lesbians more than gay males, and that being a lesbian or a bisexual female is even trendy” (25, 86) with some striking statistics. The authors highlighted responses separated by female bisexual, lesbian, male bisexual and gay youth respondents. Six out of eight of the measures indicated that on average female bisexual and lesbian youth, i.e. female sexual minority youth, are more vulnerable in school settings. Female sexual minorities had a higher rate of physical harassment about being LGBTQ; experiencing mean rumors or lies about being LGBTQ; feeling unsafe at school because of actual or perceived sexual orientation; feeling generally unsafe at school; not knowing anyone out as LGBTQ at school; and not knowing of any school staff members who are supportive of LGBTQ matters. Specifically, out of all four of these LGBTQ subgroups, female bisexual youth had the highest rate of physical harassment about being LGBTQ; experiencing mean rumors or lies about being LGBTQ; skipping school due to feeling unsafe; feeling generally unsafe at school; not knowing of anyone out as LGBTQ at school; and not knowing of any school staff members who are supportive of LGBTQ matters. It strikes me that the measures where bisexual females fare the worst can be some of the most invisible, for example having lies spread about you; feeling isolated because you don’t know other students or teachers who are out or supportive of LGBTQ; and skipping school. Sadly, the rates for vulnerable youth are not just marginally higher. Three out of 4 female bisexual youth feel unsafe at school compared to only 3.4% of non-LGBTQ respondents! (85) That is a huge gap. The picture painted here for bisexual youth and female sexual minorities is absolutely nothing like the portrayal in Glee. These lesbian and bisexual female youth were not cheerleaders, at the top of the social-food chain at school, reveling in the trendiness of their sexualities. Female-sexual minorities were actually far more at-risk than the average student, even the average LGBTQ student.

Other Vulnerable Groups

As mentioned, I would not do this report justice if I only discussed the findings relating to bisexual youth. I will also highlight trends with other LGBTQ or LGBTQ-associated respondents that I found notable:

·       Trans Youth – Reading the responses by trans youth was heartbreaking. Consider that 2 in 5 trans youth have been physically harassed or assaulted (!!) because of their gender expression (more than any other sexual minority or non-LGBTQ students); almost 8 out of 10 trans youth indicate feeling unsafe in some way at school (85)*; and 9 out of 10 of trans youth hear transphobic comments daily or weekly. (23) On top of these abysmal statistics, trans youth were the least comfortable talking about LGBTQ matters with teachers, principals, counsellors, school coaches, classmates, parents, other relatives and even close friends. (101) Trans. Youth. Are. At. Very. High. Risk. Regardless of a teacher, administrator, or school board’s stance on the “LGBTQ lifestyle” I imagine everyone can agree that an environment of fear, and harassment is unacceptable for anyone.

·       Female versus Male Sexual Minorities – Female sexual minorities reported much higher rates of verbal and physical harassment and feeling unsafe at school than male sexual minorities. Oddly, female sexual minorities seemed to attribute feeling unsafe at school to sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation more than twice as often than they attributed these feelings of lack of safety to their gender or gender expression.** Essentially, if you are a female sexual minority you are especially vulnerable in school environments... And even if you don’t realize your gender puts you at higher risk, statistically it does. Again, this goes against the stereotype that queer females are somehow less vulnerable. It is important for teachers and administrators to know who the most vulnerable youth in their care are to respond appropriately.

·        Youth with LGBTQ Parents – One vulnerable group that I had not previously considered were students who had LGBTQ parents. Students with at least one LGBTQ parent were more than double as likely to feel unsafe at school which led more than three times as many to have skipped school because of feeling unsafe. (88, 89) These youth noticed a lot more of the homophobic comments made in school. They also experienced far higher rates of verbal and physical harassment because of the sexual orientation of their parents and their own perceived sexual orientation. One participant wrote “I am not out about my family members because people are so stupid that they think that if you know someone who is LGBTQ then that means you are too.” (62) Similarly to other vulnerable groups, youth with at least one LGBTQ parent were less likely to feel comfortable talking to teachers, counsellors, classmates or close friends. (104)

·       Ethnicity – A theme amongst youth of colour was that they were a lot more susceptible to feelings of isolation. (100) Almost half of youth of colour reported knowing no teachers or staff who were supportive of LGBTQ students, a rate higher than their Caucasian and Aboriginal counterparts. Youth of colour were less likely to know of open LGBTQ students or have friends who were open about being LGBTQ. Youth of colour also reported lower rates of comfort with discussing LGBTQ matters with teachers, coaches, classmates, parents, or even close friends. Youth of colour were less likely to report that staff or classmates intervened when homophobic comments were made. (112) These trends held for LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ youth of colour. (104, 105) I was a little surprised at how few conclusive findings there were regarding Aboriginal youth. Sometimes Aboriginal youth seemed to respond more similarly to Caucasian youth and other times more similarly to youth of colour.

·       Regional Variation – The regions within Canada surveyed were the North, Atlantic, Prairies, Ontario and BC. Quebec was excluded because they had a separate study. There was regional variation on a variety of the youth’s responses. Youth in the North were 50% more likely to report feeling unsafe at school than youth in the Atlantic provinces.*** (82) When it came to comfort in speaking to teachers, coaches, classmates and parents, again the Atlantic provinces came out on top, with students feeling more comfortable. BC students reported the highest rates of staff’s effectiveness in addressing anti-LGBTQ harassment and in seeing their school communities as supportive of LGBTQ people. There was significant regional variation in students reporting the presence of Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs): less than 5% of students in the North and in the Atlantic provinces reported a GSA compared to 14% in the Prairies, 37% in Ontario and 40% in BC.**** (127) Keeping track of these regional variations and the corresponding policies and cultural attitudes in different regions can give us queues to helpful ways forward.

·       Intersectionality – Most of the above point to the importance of intersectionality. Risk factors that overlap don’t just make someone a bit more at-risk. They often make someone way more at-risk. For example, if you are a trans youth and you are living in a region of Canada with very few GSAs or supportive teachers and staff, life gets a lot harder not just a little bit harder. Something I found interesting though was that individuals with intersecting vulnerable identities were more likely to experience harassment related to other areas of life. This is a whole other aspect of intersectionality. For example, students with one or more LGBTQ parent were three times more likely to be physically harassed or assaulted due to their religion, race or ethnicity. (65)*****

Religion

I grew up in Alberta and attended a Catholic school for a few years. In Alberta there are two separate school systems: the public and the Catholic school system (which also receives public funding). With a bit of assistance of my nearest search engine I gather that six of the thirteen provinces and territories allow faith-based school boards to be publically funded (AB, ON, SK, NWT, YK). Knowing how prominent these schools are, how many students attend them, and that certain officials from the Catholic divisions appeared willing to participate in the survey, I was appalled to read that they were “instructed not to participate by their governing Bishops’ councils” because “Catholic schools should not be involved in activities that affirm the viability of a ‘homosexual lifestyle,’ such as filling out a homophobia survey.” (132) The argument went that generic safe school policies protect all students equally. Sadly, all of the evidence in this report shows otherwise. Knowing that LGBTQ students are being verbally and physically harassed at exceptionally higher rates, but that this kind of harassment is reduced significantly with simple actions taken by schools is hopeful. However, in cases, such as this one with the Catholic school boards, it is also infuriating. It is one thing for teachers, and staff to inadvertently create unsafe environment for students but to be willing to hear ways to improve this environment. It is another thing to stick your head in the sand, and avert your eyes from abuse occurring to youth in your care in the name of your faith. Unfortunately we know this isn’t the first time this has happened with the Catholic church. But when will it be the last?

But It’s Not My Problem!

As I read through descriptions given by students of their attempts to start GSAs, I was struck by the tendency of staff to either not see it as a pressing issue or to not want to rock the boat. The problem with this is that the visibility of the objections to “affirming the viability of a homosexual lifestyle” ends up trumping the invisibility of the far more vulnerable youth who are in distress because of social isolation; verbal, physical and sexual harassment; and who are far less likely to feel like they are a part of their schools. Parents, administrators or, unfortunately, church officials, have the impunity to state their opinions on homosexuality and then walk out of the classroom. Students, however, are forced to stay in those same, sometimes dangerous, classrooms. Check out some of the responses by students who wanted to start GSAs:

·       “I tried to start one, and approached staff to ask for assistance and help. I was told that in theory, although it was a nice idea, they believed that a) our school probably didn’t have enough interest ‘in that topic’; and b) there wasn’t a budget for it.”

·       “I attempted to start a GSA in my school, but the principal simply replied, ‘I do not think that many students would be interested. Also, most people may find it offensive.’”

·       “There were obstacles from the administration for fear of backlash from parents or ‘creating a problem where there wasn’t one.’ Though generally supportive, they were afraid of explicitly queer events for fear of ‘giving bullies ideas.’”

This reminds me of an interview with an occupational therapist who discussed a similar problem with healthcare providers. Some healthcare providers see themselves as open to LGBTQ folks because they are willing to provide the same services to LGBTQ people without discrimination, but because they don’t know of any of their patients being LGBTQ, they do not see the need to, for example, educate themselves on LGBTQ relevant healthcare, create inclusive forms, or put up rainbow flags in their offices to signal acceptance. The problem with this is that some LGBTQ people will not be willing to disclose their gender or sexuality in an environment that does not provide signals of acknowledgement or acceptance. Maybe these healthcare providers do have queer patients but they don’t even know! Similarly, these schools may not see the demand for GSAs because LGBTQ students are not currently out. It is unreasonable to expect LGBTQ folks to out themselves in potentially unsafe environments simply to gain access to the same quality of education, healthcare, and so on.

These are CHILDREN

Of course I knew I was reading about youth as I was reading this report. However, it really hit me when I read the Ethics Protocol section of the report. The challenge of collecting data ethically was a question the researchers needed to face: would they ask students under 18 years of age to put themselves in harm’s way to seek permission from parents to participate, or otherwise deny them the benefits of participating in research? Ultimately the Ethics Committee agreed that “LGBTQ adolescents who lack a supportive parent or guardian to act as mature minors able to provide their own consent” lest they be exposed to the scholarly documented “reactions of parents to disclosure of LGBTQ identity.” Reading the list of references following that statement on the adverse “reactions of parents” leaves a lump in your throat. Studies from 2005, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2001, 2008… All studies outlining how cruel your own family can be if you disclose your sexual or gender to them. It’s easy to forget how vulnerable you are as a youth: your parents, teachers, and other adults are expected to be your caregivers. Often these adults make many of your life choices for you until you are old enough to legally decide for yourself. Yet here they are: students being clearly targeted for verbal and physical harassment, without supportive adults around, and yet still dependent on these adults for something as simple as filling out a survey.

Change is Possible

Despite all of these depressing statistics there is a strong message of hope in this report. Generic safe school policies that do not include specific measures on homophobia are ineffective at improving the school climate for LGBTQ students. (115) But in schools with safe school policies that explicitly address homophobia and where students are aware of these policies LGBTQ students and students with LGBTQ parents were:

·       More likely to feel like they are respected as a part of the school;

·       More likely to feel like they can talk to teachers, principals, counsellors, coaches and classmates about LGBTQ matters;

·       Less likely to be exposed to homophobia and transphobic comments;

·       Less likely to be targeted by verbal and physical attacks;

·       More likely to report incidents when they are targeted; and

·       More likely to find their teachers effective in addressing incidents. (115)

Other factors that were indicative of a more supportive and less abusive environment for LGBTQ students was the presence of GSAs and respectful depictions of LGBTQ examples in the curriculum. (128) Another very hopeful finding was that 58% of non-LGBTQ students were distressed at homophobic comments. (137) The authors ask the brilliant question: what can adults do to activate this silent majority “in finding the courage to move from being distressed and ashamed bystanders to becoming allies who intervene in abusive situations”? (137)

One of the first things you learn in any sort of statistics class is that correlation is not causation. For this reason, I’d be curious to know which came first – the chicken or the egg. Were the school climates that were the most tolerant and supportive of LGBTQ folks the most likely to implement these policies and create GSAs? Or did the policy implementation truly change the environment? What we can be certain of though is that it is possible to create micro-climates where LGBTQ students feel safer. We do not have to wait for all of society to be on the same page. We can make our youth safer today.

Dorothy

xxoo

References and Notes

Taylor, C., & Peter, T., with McMinn, T. L., Elliott, T., Beldom, S., Ferry, A., Gross, Z., Paquin, S., & Schacter, K. (2011). Every class in every school: The first national climate survey on homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in Canadian schools. Final report. Toronto, ON: Egale Canada Human Rights Trust.

*Compare almost 8 out of 10 trans youth indicating feeling unsafe in some way at school to only 15% of non-LGBTQ youth. (85)

**Percentages of students attribute feeling unsafe to gender versus sexual orientation in the graph below (87).

*** Specifically youth in the North reported feeling unsafe 62.4% of the time and students in the Atlantic reported feeling unsafe 42.1% of the time.

****Gay-Straight Alliances, as defined in the report, are “official student clubs with LGBTQ and heterosexual student membership and typically one or two teachers who serve as faculty advisors. […] Some GSAs go by other names such as Rainbow Clubs, Human Rights Clubs, or Social Justice Clubs. This is sometimes done to signal openness to non-LGBTQ membership (though, of course, some of these are not GSAs and might not address homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia), and sometimes because ‘Gay-Straight Alliance’ seems problematic in that ‘gay’ does not necessarily refer to lesbians or bisexuals and trans identities are not explicitly encompassed by the expression. However, using the acronym ‘GSA’ to represent any student group concerned with LGBTQ matters has become commonplace.” (19) Thank you to the authors of the report for acknowledging “gay” does not encompass all LGBTQ identities!

[askovertherainbowblog]

[askovertherainbowblog]

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[askovertherainbowblog]

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[askovertherainbowblog]

the best analogy for bisexuals i've ever heard

werewolf: i’m a werewolf person: ok so when you’re in human form you’re a human, and when you’re in wolf form you’re a wolf though. werewolf: no. i’m a werewolf. human form = werewolf. wolf form = werewolf. always a werewolf. no matter the circumstance or appearance, I AM ALWAYS A WEREWOLF